Part 2, Chapter 18
So often we want to hear God’s voice clearly. We want it to be loud and clear. I think sometimes we expect that God’s voice is going to be big and booming. Kind of like at the Baptism in the Jordan or at the Transfiguration (at least that is how I imagine it would have been). But God speaks a lot quieter to us and so we have to learn to discern between inspirations and temptations.
There is a difference in hearing God’s voice (inspiration) versus the enemy (temptation). Both can seem good, they have qualities that make us think that they are good. When they come, (inspirations, temptations) they can even give us pleasure. We need to discern from this communication which is of God and which is not. Either way when a temptation or inspiration comes, a suggestion is made. God or the enemy is suggesting for us to do something or not. We have a choice to make. We always have to remember we have a choice. We than ponder the choice, that is to discern, to think through. Is this a good choice? Will it bring me close to God? To discern, we may even say a prayer asking for God’s guidance in this suggestion. Once we have discerned if we think we should or shouldn’t do the suggestion we accept the choice or we reject. In discerning, if we ponder that the choice is not from God, we than reject it. But if we discern that we believe it is from God, we accept it.
Some things that we discern about are bigger than others. “But, before consenting to inspirations that have respect to important or extraordinary things, guard against self-deception, by consulting your spiritual guide, and let him examine whether the inspirations be real or no” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 61). We are not alone when we discern and some choices don’t need to be rushed into. It is good to seek out spiritual help from a director or confessor when we are making huge choices in our lives. Generally, we don’t need to rush into making choices. Still, when discerning something that will have big impact on our lives, we should take our time and be patient. Discernment is a beautiful gift and over time we will learn more and more to recognize the voice and inspirations that come from God.